Remarks by the Vice President to Employees of the Wal-Mart Distribution Center
5801 Southwest Regional Airport Boulevard
Bentonville, Arkansas

12:40 P.M. CDT

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very much. (Applause.) Thank
you very much. And thank you for that warm welcome to Bentonville, in
the great state of Arkansas, and for allowing us to come spend a little
time with all of you this morning.

Lynne talking about growing up in Casper, Wyoming -- things worked
out well in part because of an election campaign in 1952. Of course
this is a campaign year. And now I'm on the ballot with the
President. But in 1952, I was a youngster living in Lincoln, Nebraska
with my folks. And we had an election victory; Dwight Eisenhower got
elected. He reorganized the Agriculture Department, and my dad got
transferred to Casper, Wyoming, where I met Lynne.

And we grew up together, went to high school together. In August,
we'll mark our 40th wedding anniversary. (Applause.) And I was
explaining to some folks the other night that if it hadn't been for
that election victory by Dwight Eisenhower in 1952, I would never have
moved to Wyoming, and Lynne would have married somebody else.
(Laughter.) And she said, right, and now he'd be Vice President of the
United States. (Laughter and applause.) And I'm sure it's true.

But I want to bring to all of you greetings from our President,
George W. Bush. (Applause.)

This is one of our nation's great companies, and one of the most
familiar names in all of America. The story of Wal-Mart exemplifies
some of the very best qualities in our country -- hard work, the spirit
of enterprise, fair dealing, and integrity.

Sam Walton opened his first store more than four decades ago with
the goal of providing friendly service and affordable shopping for his
community. Through Sam's vision, his energy, and his decency, Wal-Mart
grew into one of America's largest and most generous companies. And
for his contribution to America, Sam was awarded the Presidential Medal
of Freedom -- the highest honor a civilian can receive.

Today you can visit Wal-Mart in any of the 50 states -- or in South
America, or Europe, or Asia. Most of those stores are a little bigger
than Sam's first shop, but the friendly atmosphere and the commitment
to customers hasn't changed. A fair number of those customers like
Wal-Mart so much that they go on to work with the company, and you now
have more than a million associates. In fact, the only employer of a
bigger size is the one I work for. (Laughter.)

Without a doubt, Wal-Mart has been a tremendous economic success,
and anyone who has ever visited one knows why. Associates here lead
the industry in teamwork and productivity, in part because they see the
opportunity to rise in the company. About two-thirds of your managers
started out as associates, so they know what it takes to make the whole
enterprise work well. And you've got strong leadership at the top of
the company. The result is a tremendous operation, an economic
powerhouse, and a real credit to the United States of America, and I
want to congratulate each and every one of you for what you do for us.
(Applause.)

Your success is part of a larger economic story in America today.
Our economy has been through some tough times these past three years.
We've faced recession, then a terrorist attack, and the uncertainty of
war. Yet, through all of these challenges, our economy has grown
because of the steady effort of our citizens, and because of the sound
policies and the leadership of President George W. Bush.

The President and I know that the best way to expand the economy
and to create jobs is to leave more money in the hands of the people
who earn it. (Applause.) So when we came to office, we proposed and
delivered significant tax relief, and fulfilled a major economic goal
-- to reduce the federal tax burden on every single American who pays
income taxes.

Since George Bush became President, more than 860,000 taxpayers in
Arkansas have seen their income tax bills reduced; more than 280,000
married couples in Arkansas have benefited from marriage penalty
relief; and over 235,000 families in Arkansas have benefited from the
doubling of the child tax credit. Over 200,000 small business owners
in Arkansas have seen their federal tax burden go down, allowing them
to invest in new equipment, expand facilities and hire additional
workers. Across America, the average savings from the President's
across-the-board tax cuts topped $1,500. Some critics say that wasn't
much. But it sure feels like a lot when you have to send it to
Washington -- and we did the right thing by giving it back.
(Applause.)

You've seen the results of tax relief here in Bentonville, and we
are seeing the results throughout the country. In the first quarter of
this year, the economy grew at 4.2 percent. Over the past three
quarters, the economy has grown at a rate of 5.5 percent -- the fastest
pace since Ronald Reagan's first term in the White House. In March,
the economy added over 300,000 new jobs, and we've created more than
750,000 new jobs since August. The home ownership rate is the highest
ever. Interest rates and inflation are low. Manufacturing activity is
increasing. Productivity is high. Business investment is rising.
America's economy is moving in the right direction -- don't let anyone
tell you otherwise. (Applause.)

For all this progress, there's still more work to be done. The
goal of our administration is a strong, vigorous, growing economy in
every part of Arkansas, and every part of the country. We want to see
more opportunities for citizens, more new jobs, and more businesses in
our communities. And so we're going to keep moving forward with a
clear, comprehensive, pro-growth agenda.

We start with a clear understanding of the role of government. We
know that America's $10 trillion-dollar economy is sustained by the
free enterprise system, and by the hard work of the nation's
entrepreneurs and workers. Government spends a lot of money, but it
doesn't build factories, or meet company payrolls, or do the work that
makes the economy go. The federal government's job is not to manage or
control the economy, but to remove obstacles standing in the way of
faster growth. The key to more jobs is not more government, but free
enterprise, and low taxes, and spending discipline in Washington, D.C.

We need fewer mandates, and fewer unnecessary regulations from
Washington. American businesses should be able to spend their time
building the business and creating jobs, not filling out a lot of
useless government paperwork. (Applause.)

We should help business owners confront the rising costs of health
care. Here in Arkansas and across the country, we need to make sure
that frivolous lawsuits don't run good doctors out of business and
drive up the cost of care. No one has ever been healed by a frivolous
lawsuit -- so Congress needs to pass medical liability reform, and do
it soon. (Applause.)

A healthy, growing economy depends, as well, on affordable,
reliable supplies of energy. We need to pass sound energy legislation
to promote efficient technology, conservation, and new production.
It's time that the United States become less dependent on energy
supplies from foreign countries. (Applause.)

We also need to knock down trade barriers, and open up new markets
around the world for American farmers and ranchers and entrepreneurs
and manufacturers. Wal-Mart can compete anywhere in the world -- and
by opening more markets, we create more jobs right here at home.

In order to generate more jobs and to maintain economic growth, we
also need to create certainty in the tax code. Families and
entrepreneurs need to be able to plan better for the future. But under
current law, many of the tax cuts we've passed are set to expire a few
years down the road. We need to remove that uncertainty. For the sake
of jobs, and for the sake of American families, Congress needs to make
the Bush tax cuts permanent. (Applause.)

This November, the American people will have a clear choice on the
economy. President Bush has stood firmly by his conviction that lower
taxes are critical to growth and jobs. The President's opponent takes
a somewhat different view.

When we created the lower 10 percent tax rate for working families,
the Junior Senator from Massachusetts voted against it. When we
reduced the tax rate on dividends to help seniors and investors,
Senator Kerry voted against it. When we passed a higher expense
deduction to give businesses incentives to invest, Senator Kerry voted
against it. When we proposed repealing the death tax, Senator Kerry
voted to keep it alive, and now he wants to reinstate it.

In this campaign Senator Kerry has already proposed an enormous
amount of new federal spending -- about $1.9 trillion at last count.
There's a big gap between those spending promises and his promise to
lower the deficit. And it takes little imagination to figure out just
how he would fill that tax gap: a major new tax increase on the people
of America -- investors, entrepreneurs, and workers of this country.

In fact, higher taxes form the basis of Senator Kerry's economic
plan. He has pledged that, if elected President, he will repeal many
of the Bush tax cuts during his first hundred days in office. That
should come as no surprise. Senator Kerry voted in favor of the
largest tax increase in American history. In fact, over his two
decades in Washington, Senator Kerry has voted at least 350 times for
higher taxes. That's an average of one vote for higher taxes every
three weeks. At least the folks in Massachusetts knew he was on the
job. (Laughter.)

You wouldn't know any of this, though, from Senator Kerry's
statements during this campaign. After voting three times to increase
the gas tax, and once proposing to increase it by 50 cents a gallon, he
now says he doesn't support it. The Senator voices his strong support
for the child tax credit and claimed he fought hard to get rid of the
marriage penalty. Yet in his career, Senator Kerry has voted at least
18 times against expanding the child tax credit, and at least 20 times
against cutting the marriage penalty. All in all, this is a record of
a senator who will speak out against higher taxes when it suits the
political moment but is actually one of the most reliable pro-tax votes
in the United States Senate.

Senator Kerry is now trying to re-create himself as an
entrepreneurial Democrat. I'm not quite sure what that is. Senator
Kerry never gets around to explaining how he would create jobs. He has
opposed or voted to block medical liability reform at least 10 times.
He's been consistent as an opponent of tort reform and opposed sound
energy plans. And his commitment to free trade is somewhat
questionable. Senator Kerry is against these job-creating measures and
consistently in favor of higher taxes. So we can only conclude that he
expects that billions of dollars in tax increases will somehow create
new jobs.

Economics, common sense, and the experience of the real world, tell
us otherwise. Senator Kerry's tax hikes would choke entrepreneurs and
cut the recent job growth in our economy. The American people know
that Senator Kerry's massive tax increase is the wrong policy at the
wrong time for our country.

American workers and businesses welcomed President Bush's tax
relief, and you have put that money to good use by spending, and
saving, and creating new jobs. As in other matters, Senator Kerry's
long record in Washington helps to clarify the very real choice the
American people will have in 2004. On economic policy, that choice is
between a senator who would raise taxes, and a President who has cut
them -- not once, but three times. It's the difference between a
senator who makes endless promises of new federal spending, and a
President who insists on federal discipline in Washington, D.C.

The President and I welcome this debate on the economy, and on all
the issues that face the nation in this election. From economic growth
to national security to education, we believe there's a record of
achievement to show for our first term in office. I am confident that
six months from now, with a clear choice before them, the American
people will choose the confident, steady, principled leadership of
President George W. Bush. (Applause.)

Once again, Lynne and I want to thank you for your warm welcome in
Bentonville, and your hospitality here at Wal-Mart. The managers and
associates at this great company are helping to drive our economy
forward. You're making a vital contribution to the most prosperous
economy in the world. It's an honor to stand with the workers of this
outstanding company. Once again, congratulations on your
accomplishments, and good luck in the years to come.